Electronic device and method for configuring display thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a rectangular display, at least one sensor, a processor electrically connected to the display and the at least one sensor, and a memory electrically connected to the processor, wherein the memory stores an application program including a first layout to be displayed when the display is substantially oriented in a horizontal orientation and a second layout displayed when the display is substantially oriented in a vertical orientation, and the memory stores instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the process to perform operations including: displaying a window including one of the first and second layouts on a part of the display, detecting a change in the orientation of the electronic device by using the at least one sensor, rotating the window about 90 degrees based on the detected orientation change, and continuously maintaining one of the first and second layout in the window.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a divisional application of prior application Ser.No. 15/341,364, filed on Nov. 2, 2016, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Korean patent application filed on Nov. 18, 2015 inthe Korean Intellectual Property Office and assigned Serial number10-2015-0161994, the entire disclosure of each of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a display configurationfor an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

With the development of a mobile communication technology and aprocessor technology, a portable terminal device (hereinafter, refer toas “electronic device”) has been able to implement various applicationsas well as a call function of the related art. For example, variousapplications such as internet browsers, games, calculators, etc. aredeveloped and utilized on the electronic device.

A display of the electronic device is prepared in a rectangular shapewhose height is generally longer than its width, and for a user'sconvenience, it has been defined to implement the orientation of anapplication in a vertical or horizontal orientation at the time ofdevelopment of each application. In addition, the electronic device maysense the orientation of the electronic device itself through a gravitysensor (or a gyro sensor), and some applications such as an internetbrowser may be configured to change the orientation of an applicationbased on whether the electronic device is vertically or horizontallyoriented as sensed through a sensor. An application which defines theorientation change may include a separate layout corresponding to avertical direction or a horizontal direction.

Recent electronic devices have been implemented with a multi-windowfunction for displaying two or more applications on a single screen atthe same time. That is, the electronic device may display, on splitareas by which the display is split into two or more areas, a window onwhich two or more simultaneously executed applications are displayed andan execution screen of each application, or may overlay each window anddisplay the overlaid window.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

When a plurality of applications are displayed on respective windowsaccording to a display mode (horizontal or vertical mode) in anelectronic device that supports a multi-window function, the electronicdevice may be rotated from horizontal to vertical orientation or viceversa, and thus all of the plurality of applications may be rotated inthe same display mode. That is, in a state where the electronic deviceis in a vertical mode and two applications are being executed thereon,the electronic device is configured to display both of the twoapplications in a vertical mode, and when the electronic device isrotated in a horizontal orientation and switched to a horizontal mode,the electronic device is configured to display both of the twoapplications being executed thereon in a horizontal mode.

Since the electronic device may only display applications being executedat the same time in a display mode of the same direction, even if theelectronic device is rotated, the display mode may not be changed and amulti-window function may be terminated.

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide an electronic device which can configure anappropriate orientation for each of the windows of a plurality ofapplications simultaneously being executed in a multi-windowenvironment.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice is provided. The electronic device includes a rectangulardisplay, at least one sensor, a processor electrically connected to thedisplay and the at least one sensor, and a memory electrically connectedto the processor, wherein the memory stores an application programincluding a first layout to be displayed when the display issubstantially oriented in a horizontal orientation and a second layoutto be displayed when the display is substantially oriented in a verticalorientation, and the memory stores instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform operations includingdisplaying a window including one of the first and second layouts on apart of the display, detecting a change in the orientation of theelectronic device by using the at least one sensor, rotating the windowabout 90 degrees at least partially based on the detection of theorientation change, and continuously maintaining one of the first andsecond layouts in the window.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, anelectronic device is provided. The electronic device includes arectangular display, at least one sensor, a processor electricallyconnected to the display and the at least one sensor, and a memoryelectrically connected to the processor, wherein the memory stores anapplication program including a first layout to be displayed when thedisplay is substantially oriented in a horizontal orientation and asecond layout when the display is substantially oriented in a verticalorientation, and the memory stores instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform operations includingdisplaying a window including one of the first and second layouts on apart of the display, managing selection of the layout in a windowdisplayed on the display at the center, detecting a change in theorientation of the electronic device by using the at least one sensor,identifying, when the orientation of the electronic device is changed inresponse to the detection, whether the displayed window is configured tocontinuously maintain one of the first and second layouts or to includeone other layout thereof, selecting a layout to be included in thedisplayed window based on the identification, and displaying the windowincluding the selected layout.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, anelectronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a display,at least one sensor, a processor electrically connected to the displayand the at least one sensor, and a memory electrically connected to theprocessor, wherein the memory stores a plurality of applicationsincluding at least one of a first layout to be displayed when thedisplay is oriented in a vertical orientation and a second layout to bedisplayed when the display is oriented in a horizontal orientation, andthe memory stores instructions which, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to perform operations including creating, when theplurality of applications are executed, windows on which the pluralityof applications are displayed and displaying the plurality ofapplications in the first layout or the second layout, and determining,when an event for the change of the layout occurs, a layout of each ofthe plurality of applications on the basis of configuration informationon each of the plurality of applications.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodfor configuring a display of an electronic device is provided. Themethod includes executing a plurality of applications, creating windowson which the plurality of applications are displayed, respectively, anddisplaying the plurality of applications, on the windows, in a firstlayout to be displayed when a display is vertically oriented and asecond layout to be displayed when the display is horizontally oriented,sensing an event for a change in the layout, and determining a layout ofeach of the plurality of applications based on the configurationinformation on each of the plurality of applications.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide an electronicdevice which can configure an appropriate orientation for each of thewindows of a plurality of applications simultaneously being executed ina multi-window environment.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, since anorientation for each window of each application can be configured, thedisplay mode may not be changed or a multi-window function may not beterminated even when the electronic device is rotated, thereby providingconvenience to a user. That is, the present disclosure may determine anorientation of a multi-window such that the orientation is suitable forthe user's intent and attributes of each application, and thus theeffectiveness of the multi-window can be further increased.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device within a network environmentaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a program module according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates software components of an electronic device accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 illustrate an applicationscreen displayed on a display of an electronic device according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for configuring a displayof an electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood torefer to like parts, components, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

An expression “comprising” or “may comprise” used in the presentdisclosure indicates presence of a corresponding function, operation, orelement and does not limit additional at least one function, operation,or element. Further, in the present disclosure, a term “comprise” or“have” indicates presence of a characteristic, numeral, operation,element, component, or combination thereof described in a specificationand does not exclude presence or addition of at least one othercharacteristic, numeral, operation, element, component, or combinationthereof.

In the present disclosure, an expression “or” includes any combinationor the entire combination of together listed words. For example, “A orB” may include A, B, or A and B.

An expression of a first and a second in the present disclosure mayrepresent various elements of the present disclosure, but do not limitcorresponding elements. For example, the expression does not limit orderand/or importance of corresponding elements. The expression may be usedfor distinguishing one element from another element. For example, both afirst user device and a second user device are user devices andrepresent different user devices. For example, a first constituentelement may be referred to as a second constituent element withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure, and similarly, asecond constituent element may be referred to as a first constituentelement.

When it is described that an element is “coupled” to another element,the element may be “directly coupled” to the other element or“electrically coupled” to the other element through a third element.However, when it is described that an element is “directly coupled” toanother element, no element may exist between the element and the otherelement.

Unless differently defined, entire terms including a technical term anda scientific term used here have the same meaning as a meaning that maybe generally understood by a person of common skill in the art. Itshould be analyzed that generally using terms defined in a dictionaryhave a meaning corresponding to that of a context of related technologyand are not analyzed as an ideal or excessively formal meaning unlessexplicitly defined.

In this disclosure, an electronic device may be a device that involves acommunication function. For example, an electronic device may be a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, a video phone,an e-book reader, a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a netbook computer, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player), aMoving Picture Experts Group phase 1 or phase 2 (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2) audiolayer 3 (MP3) player, a portable medical device, a digital camera, or awearable device (e.g., a head-mounted device (HMD) such as electronicglasses, electronic clothes, an electronic bracelet, an electronicnecklace, an electronic appcessory, or a smart watch).

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice may be a smart home appliance that involves a communicationfunction. For example, an electronic device may be a television (TV), adigital versatile disc (DVD) player, audio equipment, a refrigerator, anair conditioner, a vacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave, a washingmachine, an air cleaner, a set-top box, a TV box (e.g., SamsungHomeSync™, Apple TV™, Google TV™, etc.), a game console, an electronicdictionary, an electronic key, a camcorder, or an electronic pictureframe.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice may be a medical device (e.g., magnetic resonance angiography(MRA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT),ultrasonography, etc.), a navigation device, a global positioning system(GPS) receiver, an event data recorder (EDR), a flight data recorder(FDR), a car infotainment device, electronic equipment for ship (e.g., amarine navigation system, a gyrocompass, etc.), avionics, securityequipment, or an industrial or home robot.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice may be furniture or part of a building or construction having acommunication function, an electronic board, an electronic signaturereceiving device, a projector, or various measuring instruments (e.g., awater meter, an electric meter, a gas meter, a wave meter, etc.). Anelectronic device disclosed herein may be one of the above-mentioneddevices or any combination thereof. As well understood by those skilledin the art, the above-mentioned electronic devices are not to beconsidered as a limitation of this disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic apparatus 101 may include a bus 110,a processor 120, a memory 130, a user input module (input/outputinterface) 150, a display 160, and a communication interface 170.

The bus 110 may be a circuit for interconnecting elements describedabove and for allowing a communication, e.g. by transferring a controlmessage, between the elements described above.

The processor 120 can receive commands from the above-mentioned otherelements, e.g. the memory 130, the user input module 150, the display160, and the communication interface 170, through, for example, the bus110, can decipher the received commands, and perform operations and/ordata processing according to the deciphered commands.

The memory 130 can store commands received from the processor 120 and/orother elements, e.g. the user input module 150, the display 160, and thecommunication interface 170, and/or commands and/or data generated bythe processor 120 and/or other elements. The memory 130 may includesoftware and/or programs 140, such as a kernel 141, middleware 143, anapplication programming interface (API) 145, and an application 147.Each of the programming modules described above may be configured bysoftware, firmware, hardware, and/or combinations of two or morethereof.

The kernel 141 can control and/or manage system resources, e.g. the bus110, the processor 120 or the memory 130, used for execution ofoperations and/or functions implemented in other programming modules,such as the middleware 143, the API 145, and/or the application 147.Further, the kernel 141 can provide an interface through which themiddleware 143, the API 145, and/or the application 147 can access andthen control and/or manage an individual element of the electronicapparatus 101.

The middleware 143 can perform a relay function which allows the API 145and/or the application 147 to communicate with and exchange data withthe kernel 141. Further, in relation to operation requests received fromat least one of an application 147, the middleware 143 can perform loadbalancing in relation to the operation requests by, for example, givinga priority in using a system resource, e.g. the bus 110, the processor120, and/or the memory 130, of the electronic apparatus 101 to at leastone application from among the at least one of the application 147.

The API 145 is an interface through which the application 147 cancontrol a function provided by the kernel 141 and/or the middleware 143,and may include, for example, at least one interface or function forfile control, window control, image processing, and/or charactercontrol.

The user input module 150 can receive, for example, a command and/ordata from a user, and transfer the received command and/or data to theprocessor 120 and/or the memory 130 through the bus 110. The display 160can display an image, a video, and/or data to a user.

The communication interface 170 can establish a communication betweenthe electronic apparatus 101 and other electronic devices 102 and 104and/or a server 106. The communication interface 170 can support shortrange communication protocols 164, e.g. a Wi-Fi protocol, a Bluetooth(BT) protocol, and a near field communication (NFC) protocol,communication networks, e.g. internet, local area network (LAN), widearea network (WAN), a telecommunication network, a cellular network, anda satellite network, or a plain old telephone service (POTS), or anyother similar and/or suitable communication networks, such as network162, or the like. Each of the electronic devices 102 and 104 may be asame type and/or different types of electronic apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 201according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronicdevice 201 may form, for example, the whole or part of the electronicdevice 101 shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic device 201 may include at least oneapplication processor (AP) 210, a communication module 220, a subscriberidentification module (SIM) card 224, a memory 230, a sensor module 240,an input unit 250, a display 260, an interface 270, an audio module 280,a camera module 291, a power management module 295, a battery 296, anindicator 297, and a motor 298.

The AP 210 may drive an operating system (OS) or applications, control aplurality of hardware or software components connected thereto, and alsoperform processing and operation for various data including multimediadata. The AP 210 may be formed of system-on-chip (SoC), for example.According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP 210 mayfurther include a graphics processing unit (GPU) (not shown).

The communication module 220 (e.g., the communication interface 260) mayperform a data communication with any other electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 204 or the server 206) connected to the electronicdevice 200 (e.g., the electronic device 201) through the network.According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communicationmodule 220 may include therein a cellular module 221, a Wi-Fi module223, a BT module 225, a GPS module 227, an NFC module 228, and a radiofrequency (RF) module 229.

The cellular module 221 may offer a voice call, a video call, a messageservice, an internet service, or the like through a communicationnetwork (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-A), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), universal mobiletelecommunication system (UMTS), wireless broadband (WiBro), or globalsystem for mobile communication (GSM), etc.). Additionally, the cellularmodule 221 may perform identification and authentication of theelectronic device in the communication network, using the SIM card 224.According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cellularmodule 221 may perform at least part of functions the AP 210 canprovide. For example, the cellular module 221 may perform at least partof a multimedia control function.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cellularmodule 221 may include a communication processor (CP). Additionally, thecellular module 221 may be formed of SoC, for example. Although someelements such as the cellular module 221 (e.g., the CP), the memory 230,or the power management module 295 are shown as separate elements beingdifferent from the AP 210 in FIG. 2, the AP 210 may be formed to have atleast part (e.g., the cellular module 221) of the above elements in anembodiment of the present disclosure.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP 210 or thecellular module 221 (e.g., the CP) may load commands or data, receivedfrom a nonvolatile memory connected thereto or from at least one of theother elements, into a volatile memory to process them. Additionally,the AP 210 or the cellular module 221 may store data, received from orcreated at one or more of the other elements, in the nonvolatile memory.

Each of the Wi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, the GPS module 227 andthe NFC module 228 may include a processor for processing datatransmitted or received therethrough. Although FIG. 2 shows the cellularmodule 221, the Wi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, the GPS module 227and the NFC module 228 as different blocks, at least part of them may becontained in a single integrated circuit (IC) chip or a single ICpackage in an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, atleast part (e.g., the CP corresponding to the cellular module 221 and aWi-Fi processor corresponding to the Wi-Fi module 223) of respectiveprocessors corresponding to the cellular module 221, the Wi-Fi module223, the BT module 225, the GPS module 227 and the NFC module 228 may beformed as a single SoC.

The RF module 229 may transmit and receive data, e.g., RF signals or anyother electric signals. Although not shown, the RF module 229 mayinclude a transceiver, a power amp module), a frequency filter, a lownoise amplifier (LNA), or the like. Also, the RF module 229 may includeany component, e.g., a wire or a conductor, for transmission ofelectromagnetic waves in a free air space. Although FIG. 2 shows thatthe cellular module 221, the Wi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, theGPS module 227 and the NFC module 228 share the RF module 229, at leastone of them may perform transmission and reception of RF signals througha separate RF module in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The SIM card 224 may be a specific card formed of SIM and may beinserted into a slot formed at a certain place of the electronic device201. The SIM card 224 may contain therein an IC card identifier (ICCID)or an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI).

The memory 230 (e.g., the memory 230) may include an internal memory 232and an external memory 234. The internal memory 232 may include, forexample, at least one of a volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.) or anonvolatile memory (e.g., one time programmable read only memory(OTPROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable and programmable ROM(EPROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), mask ROM,flash ROM, NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, etc.).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the internalmemory 232 may have the form of a solid state drive (SSD). The externalmemory 234 may include a flash drive, e.g., compact flash (CF), securedigital (SD), micro-SD, mini-SD, extreme digital (xD), memory stick, orthe like. The external memory 234 may be functionally connected to theelectronic device 201 through various interfaces. According to anembodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device 201 mayfurther include a storage device or medium such as a hard drive.

The sensor module 240 may measure physical quantity or sense anoperating status of the electronic device 201, and then convert measuredor sensed information into electric signals. The sensor module 240 mayinclude, for example, at least one of a gesture sensor 240A, a gyrosensor 240B, an atmospheric sensor (barometer) 240C, a magnetic sensor240D, an acceleration sensor 240E, a grip sensor 240F, a proximitysensor 240G, a color sensor 240H (e.g., red, green, blue (RGB) sensor),a biometric sensor 240I, a temperature-humidity sensor 240J, anillumination (illuminance) sensor 240K, and an ultraviolet (UV) sensor240M. Additionally or alternatively, the sensor module 240 may include,e.g., an E-nose sensor (not shown), an electromyography (EMG) sensor(not shown), an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor (not shown), anelectrocardiogram (ECG) sensor (not shown), an infrared (IR) sensor (notshown), an iris scan sensor (not shown), or a finger scan sensor (notshown). Also, the sensor module 240 may include a control circuit forcontrolling one or more sensors equipped therein.

The input device 250 may include a touch panel 252, a (digital) pensensor 254, a key 256, or an ultrasonic input unit 258. The touch panel252 may recognize a touch input in a manner of capacitive type,resistive type, infrared type, or ultrasonic type. Also, the touch panel252 may further include a control circuit. In case of a capacitive type,a physical contact or proximity may be recognized. The touch panel 252may further include a tactile layer. In this case, the touch panel 252may offer a tactile feedback to a user.

The digital pen sensor 254 may be formed in the same or similar manneras receiving a touch input or by using a separate recognition sheet. Thekey 256 may include, for example, a physical button, an optical key, ora keypad. The ultrasonic input unit 258 is a specific device capable ofidentifying data by sensing sound waves with a microphone 288 in theelectronic device 201 through an input tool that generates ultrasonicsignals, thus allowing wireless recognition. According to an embodimentof the present disclosure, the electronic device 201 may receive a userinput from any external device (e.g., a computer or a server) connectedthereto through the communication module 220.

The display 260 (e.g., the display 250) may include a panel 262, ahologram 264, or a projector 266. The panel 262 may be, for example,liquid crystal display (LCD), active matrix organic light emitting diode(AM OLED), or the like. The panel 262 may have a flexible, transparentor wearable form. The panel 262 may be formed of a single module withthe touch panel 252. The hologram 264 may show a stereoscopic image inthe air using interference of light. The projector 266 may project animage onto a screen, which may be located at the inside or outside ofthe electronic device 201. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the display 260 may further include a control circuit forcontrolling the panel 262, the hologram 264, and the projector 266.

The interface 270 may include, for example, a high-definition multimediainterface (HDMI) 272, a universal serial bus (USB) 274, an opticalinterface 276, or a D-sub (D-subminiature) 278. The interface 270 may becontained, for example, in the communication interface 260 shown in FIG.2. Additionally or alternatively, the interface 270 may include, forexample, a mobile high-definition link (MHL) interface, an SDcard/multi-media card (MMC) interface, or an infrared data association(IrDA) interface.

The audio module 280 may perform a conversion between sounds andelectric signals. The audio module 280 may process sound informationinputted or outputted through a speaker 282, a receiver 284, an earphone286, or a microphone 288.

The camera module 291 is a device capable of obtaining still images andmoving images. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thecamera module 291 may include at least one image sensor (e.g., a frontsensor or a rear sensor), a lens (not shown), an (image signal processor(ISP), not shown), or a flash (e.g., LED or xenon lamp, not shown).

The power management module 295 may manage electric power of theelectronic device 201. Although not shown, the power management module295 may include, for example, a power management IC (PMIC), a chargerIC, or a battery or fuel gauge.

The PMIC may be formed, for example, of an IC chip or SoC. Charging maybe performed in a wired or wireless manner. The charger IC may charge abattery 296 and prevent overvoltage or overcurrent from a charger.According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the charger IC mayhave a charger IC used for at least one of wired and wireless chargingtypes. A wireless charging type may include, for example, a magneticresonance type, a magnetic induction type, or an electromagnetic type.Any additional circuit for a wireless charging may be further used suchas a coil loop, a resonance circuit, or a rectifier.

The battery gauge may measure the residual amount of the battery 296 anda voltage, current or temperature in a charging process. The battery 296may store or create electric power therein and supply electric power tothe electronic device 201. The battery 296 may be, for example, arechargeable battery or a solar battery.

The indicator 297 may show thereon a current status (e.g., a bootingstatus, a message status, or a recharging status) of the electronicdevice 201 or of its part (e.g., the AP 210). The motor 298 may convertan electric signal into a mechanical vibration. Although not shown, theelectronic device 201 may include a specific processor (e.g., GPU) forsupporting a mobile TV. This processor may process media data thatcomply with standards of digital multimedia broadcasting), digital videobroadcasting (DVB), or media flow.

Each of the above-discussed elements of the electronic device disclosedherein may be formed of one or more components, and its name may bevaried according to the type of the electronic device. The electronicdevice disclosed herein may be formed of at least one of theabove-discussed elements without some elements or with additional otherelements. Some of the elements may be integrated into a single entitythat still performs the same functions as those of such elements beforeintegrated.

The term “module” used in this disclosure may refer to a certain unitthat includes one of hardware, software and firmware or any combinationthereof. The module may be interchangeably used with unit, logic,logical block, component, or circuit, for example. The module may be theminimum unit, or part thereof, which performs one or more particularfunctions. The module may be formed mechanically or electronically. Forexample, the module disclosed herein may include at least one ofapplication-specific IC (ASIC) chip, field-programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), and programmable-logic device, which have been known or are tobe developed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a programmingmodule 310 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The programming module 310 may be included (or stored) in the electronicdevice 201 (e.g., the memory 230) illustrated in FIG. 2 or may beincluded (or stored) in the electronic device 201 (e.g., the memory 230)illustrated in FIG. 2. At least a part of the programming module 310 maybe implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of twoor more thereof. The programming module 310 may be implemented inhardware, and may include an OS controlling resources related to anelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 101 or 201) and/orvarious applications (e.g., an application 370) executed in the OS. Forexample, the OS may be Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, Tizen, Bada, andthe like.

Referring to FIG. 3, the programming module 310 may include a kernel320, a middleware 330, an API 360, and/or the application 370.

The kernel 320 (e.g., the kernel 241) may include a system resourcemanager 321 and/or a device driver 323. The system resource manager 321may include, for example, a process manager (not illustrated), a memorymanager (not illustrated), and a file system manager (not illustrated).The system resource manager 321 may perform the control, allocation,recovery, and/or the like of system resources. The device driver 323 mayinclude, for example, a display driver (not illustrated), a cameradriver (not illustrated), a BT driver (not illustrated), a shared memorydriver (not illustrated), a USB driver (not illustrated), a keypaddriver (not illustrated), a Wi-Fi driver (not illustrated), and/or anaudio driver (not illustrated). Also, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the device driver 323 may include an inter-processcommunication (IPC) driver (not illustrated).

The middleware 330 may include multiple modules previously implementedso as to provide a function used in common by the applications 370.Also, the middleware 330 may provide a function to the applications 370through the API 360 in order to enable the applications 370 toefficiently use limited system resources within the electronic device.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the middleware 330 (e.g., themiddleware 243) may include at least one of a runtime library 335, anapplication manager 341, a window manager 342, a multimedia manager 343,a resource manager 344, a power manager 345, a database manager 346, apackage manager 347, a connectivity manager 348, a notification manager349, a location manager 350, a graphic manager 351, a security manager352, and any other suitable and/or similar manager.

The runtime library 335 may include, for example, a library module usedby a complier, in order to add a new function by using a programminglanguage during the execution of the application 370. According to anembodiment of the present disclosure, the runtime library 335 mayperform functions which are related to input and output, the managementof a memory, an arithmetic function, and/or the like.

The application manager 341 may manage, for example, a life cycle of atleast one of the applications 370. The window manager 342 may managegraphical user interface (GUI) resources used on the screen. Themultimedia manager 343 may detect a format used to reproduce variousmedia files and may encode or decode a media file through a codecappropriate for the relevant format. The resource manager 344 may manageresources, such as a source code, a memory, a storage space, and/or thelike of at least one of the applications 370.

The power manager 345 may operate together with a basic input/outputsystem (BIOS), may manage a battery or power, and may provide powerinformation and the like used for an operation. The database manager 346may manage a database in such a manner as to enable the generation,search and/or change of the database to be used by at least one of theapplications 370. The package manager 347 may manage the installationand/or update of an application distributed in the form of a packagefile.

The connectivity manager 348 may manage a wireless connectivity such as,for example, Wi-Fi and BT. The notification manager 349 may display orreport, to the user, an event such as an arrival message, anappointment, a proximity alarm, and the like in such a manner as not todisturb the user. The location manager 350 may manage locationinformation of the electronic device. The graphic manager 351 may managea graphic effect, which is to be provided to the user, and/or a UIrelated to the graphic effect. The security manager 352 may providevarious security functions used for system security, userauthentication, and the like. According to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, when the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 201)has a telephone function, the middleware 330 may further include atelephony manager (not illustrated) for managing a voice telephony callfunction and/or a video telephony call function of the electronicdevice.

The middleware 330 may generate and use a new middleware module throughvarious functional combinations of the above-described internal elementmodules. The middleware 330 may provide modules specialized according totypes of OSs in order to provide differentiated functions. Also, themiddleware 330 may dynamically delete some of the existing elements, ormay add new elements. Accordingly, the middleware 330 may omit some ofthe elements described in the various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, may further include other elements, or may replace the someof the elements with elements, each of which performs a similar functionand has a different name.

The API 360 (e.g., the API 245) is a set of API programming functions,and may be provided with a different configuration according to an OS.In the case of Android or iOS, for example, one API set may be providedto each platform. In the case of Tizen, for example, two or more APIsets may be provided to each platform.

The applications 370 (e.g., the applications 247) may include, forexample, a preloaded application and/or a third party application. Theapplications 370 (e.g., the applications 247) may include, for example,a home application 371, a dialer application 372, a short messageservice (SMS)/multimedia message service (MMS) application 373, aninstant message (IM) application 374, a browser application 375, acamera application 376, an alarm application 377, a contact application378, a voice dial application 379, an electronic mail (e-mail)application 380, a calendar application 381, a media player application382, an album application 383, a clock application 384, and any othersuitable and/or similar application.

At least a part of the programming module 310 may be implemented byinstructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium. When the instructions are executed by one or more processors(e.g., the AP 210), the one or more processors may perform functionscorresponding to the instructions. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium may be, for example, the memory 220. At least a part ofthe programming module 310 may be implemented (e.g., executed) by, forexample, the one or more processors. At least a part of the programmingmodule 310 may include, for example, a module, a program, a routine, aset of instructions, and/or a process for performing one or morefunctions.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure for adjustinga display mode will be described through FIGS. 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9,10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 in more detail.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic devicemay include a processor and a memory so as to execute variousapplications and include a display for displaying the executedapplications, and the electronic device may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet PC, etc. According to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, an electronic device may provide a multi-window function forsimultaneously executing two or more applications and displaying each ofthe applications on one screen at the same time.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the application is awell-known application program which can be stored, installed, andexecuted in the electronic device, and may include, for example, adialer, an SMS/MMS, an internet browser, a game, a calculator, etc.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic devicemay include a display of a rectangular shape whose height is longer thanits width, and identify whether the display is oriented in a horizontaldirection or a vertical direction through at least one sensor. That is,it may be defined that when a short side of the display faces up/downwith respect to the ground, the display is vertically oriented, and whenthe long side of the display faces up/down with respect to the ground,the display is horizontally orientated.

Here, the electronic device may determine the orientation of the displayaccording to the a range of an angle between the display and the ground,and when the orientation of the display is changed from horizontal tovertical or vice versa, the electronic device may determine such thatthe orientation of the display is maintained within a predeterminedangle range, in order to prevent iterative changes in the layout of theapplication.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a window maycorrespond to each of the applications, and may be defined as an area onthe display on which a screen is displayed according to the execution ofthe plurality of applications. As described above, the electronic devicemay support a multi-window function, and when two applications areexecuted at the same time on the electronic device, two windows areindividually defined on the display.

Here, a plurality of windows corresponding to a plurality ofapplications may be displayed such that separate layers are overlappedwith each other. In this case, one of the plurality of windows may be abackground window displayed on the background and one or more otherwindows may be pop-up windows displayed on a layer above the backgroundwindow. In addition, the plurality of windows corresponding to theplurality of applications may be split windows defined on areas dividedfrom each other on the display. The display format of multiple windowsas described above may be determined according to the configurationinformation of each application or the user's configuration.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, each application maydefine at least one layout. At least one application may include a firstlayout to be displayed when the display is vertically oriented and asecond layout to be displayed when the display is horizontally oriented.The first layout is a shape whose horizontal direction is short andvertical direction is long, and the second layout is a shape whosehorizontal direction is long and vertical direction is short, and forexample, a part of the information displayed at the bottom on the firstlayout may be displayed on the right side on the second layout.

In addition, at least one other application may have a fixed layoutregardless of the orientation of the display. That is, for anapplication whose layout is fixed to be vertical, even when theorientation of the display is changed from vertical to horizontal, thelayout may be not changed and maintain a shape whose vertical length isshort and horizontal length is long.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device and a method for configuring a display thereof mayindividually configure (vertically or horizontally), for each window,display modes of the plurality of applications being executed.Therefore, the display mode can be individually configured for eachwindow according to the user's input operation such as the rotation ofthe electronic device and change in the size of a window, orcharacteristics of an application UI being executed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an electronic device 400 according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, the electronic device 400 may include a display410, a touch panel 420, a processor 430, a memory 440, and a sensor 450,and there is no problem to implement various embodiments of the presentdisclosure even if a part of the illustrated configuration is omitted orreplaced. The electronic device may include at least a part of theconfigurations of the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1 and/or theelectronic device 201 of FIG. 2.

The display 410 may display an image generated according to theexecution of an application, and is implemented with a known displaypanel such as an LCD, an OLED display, etc. The display 410 may includeat least a part of the configuration of the display 160 of FIG. 1. Thedisplay 410 may be implemented in a rectangular shape.

The touch panel 420 may be prepared on the display 410 and sense theuser's touch through at least one of a capacitive scheme, a resistivescheme, an infrared scheme, and an ultrasonic scheme.

The processor 430 may be configured to perform an operation or dataprocessing regarding control and/or communication of each elements ofthe electronic device 400, and include at least one of theconfigurations of the processor of FIG. 1 and/or the AP of FIG. 2. Theprocessor 430 may be electrically connected to the display 410, at leastone sensor 450, and the memory 440.

The memory 440 may temporarily or permanently store various digital dataand include at least one of the configurations of the memory 130 of FIG.1 and/or the memory 230 of FIG. 2. The electronic device 400 may includea plurality of memories and it can be construed that the memory 440 inFIG. 4 includes at least a part of the plurality of memories included inthe electronic device 400.

The memory 440 may include a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory.The non-volatile may include at least one of an OTPROM, a PROM, anEPROM, an EEPROM, a mask ROM, a flash ROM, a flash memory (for example,a NAND flash memory or a NOR flash memory), a hard disk drive, an SSD,and the like, and the volatile memory may include at least one of aDRAM, an SRAM, or an SDRAM.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the memory440 may store at least one application and instructions for determiningeach layout when the application is executed.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the instructions mayinclude a control command such as arithmetic and logic operations, datamovement, and input/output that can be recognized by the processor 430.In addition, the instructions may be defined on a framework of aplatform for the electronic device 400. Hereinafter, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure, various operationsrelated to the determination of a window and layout and performed by theprocessor 430 may be operations performed by the instructions stored inthe memory 440 and executed by the processor 430.

The electronic device 400 may include at least one sensor 450, and theat least one sensor 450 may include a gravity sensor (or a gyro sensor)for sensing the orientation of the electronic device 400.

The processor 430 may create a window on which each application isdisplayed when the plurality of applications are executed.

The processor 430 may create a plurality of windows for displaying aplurality of applications, respectively, when the plurality ofapplications are executed, and display the plurality of applications ina first layout or the second layout. Thereafter, when an event forchanging the layout occurs, the processor 430 may determine layouts ofthe plurality of applications based on each piece of configurationinformation of the plurality of applications. According to variousembodiments of the present disclosure, the processor 430 mayindividually determine the window and layout for each application beingexecuted and allow each application to have different orientationinformation.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an event forchanging the layout may occur when the orientation of the display 410 ischanged from horizontal to vertical or vice versa, or the size of one ofthe pop-up windows is changed according to the user's input so that oneof the horizontal length or vertical length of the pop-up windowincreases by a threshold value or more than the length of the other.

When the event for changing the layout occurs, the processor 430 mayidentify configuration information for each application. According tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure, each application mayinclude configuration information related to the UI characteristics, andthe configuration information may include information on the orientationand layout of a window in which the application is displayed.

For example, when a multi-window function is executed, an internetbrowser application may include a first layout in a vertical orientationand a second layout in a horizontal orientation and be configured tomaintain the window size and position according to the rotation of thedisplay 410. In addition, a game application includes a fixed layout ina horizontal direction, and the orientation of the window may beconfigured to rotate about 90 degrees to the horizontal and verticaldirections according to the horizontal or vertical direction of thedisplay 410.

The processor 430 may determine layouts of a plurality of applications,respectively, based on the configuration information of eachapplication. For example, when the orientation of the display 410 ischanged from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction and anapplication is configured to change a layout, the size and coordinatesof the window may change the orientation from a vertical direction to ahorizontal direction and change a conventionally displayed first layoutto a second layout. In addition, when the orientation of the display 410is fixed in a vertical direction, the orientation of the display 410 ischanged from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction, and anapplication is configured to have a fixed layout in a verticaldirection, the direction of a window may be rotated about 90 degrees andcontinuously include the fixed layout in the rotated window.

At the time of the event occurrence, when a window for each applicationand a layout to be displayed in the window are determined, the processor430 may combine windows of applications to create a single screen.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, one of thewindows corresponding to a plurality of applications is a backgroundwindow displayed on the background, and one or more other windows may bepop-up windows displayed on a layer above the background window. Inaddition, the plurality of windows corresponding to the plurality ofapplications may be split windows defined on areas divided from eachother on the display 410. The display format of multiple windows asdescribed above may be determined according to the configurationinformation of each application or the user's configuration.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the display410 may include a first area and a second area divided from each other,and for example, the first area may be an area on the front surface ofthe display 410, and the second area may be an edge area on the rightside or left side of the display 410. The processor 430 may allowdetermining of the layout of a screen displayed on each area accordingto the orientation of the display 410.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when anapplication is executed, the processor 430 may display, on a part of thedisplay 410, a window including one of a first layout to be displayedwhen the display 410 is substantially horizontally oriented or a secondlayout to be displayed when the display is substantially verticallyoriented. In a state where one of the layouts is displayed on thedisplay 410, the sensor 450 may detect the change in the orientation ofthe electronic device 400 and output a signal corresponding thereto tothe processor 430. The processor 430 may allow the window including oneof the first layout and second layout according to the change of theorientation to be rotated by about 90 degrees and allow the window tocontinuously include the conventionally displayed layout. In this case,at the time of rotating the window, the size thereof can be reduced orenlarged, and the application to be displayed in the window may also bereduced or enlarged according to the size of the window. When theorientation of the electronic device 400 is changed, the processor 430may allow the window to select whether to include the conventionallayout, that is, one of the first and second layouts or one other layoutof the first layout and the second layout, based on the user's input.The processor 430 may provide a UI for the selection and select whetherto maintain or change a layout for each application. In addition, whenthe orientation of the electronic device 400 is rotated, the processor430 may determine whether to maintain or change the layout according tothe user's input pattern on the display 410 or a hard key (not shown)provided at the side of the electronic device.

When the orientation of the electronic device 400 is changed, theprocessor 430 may allow the window to select whether to include theconventional layout, that is, one of the first and second layouts, orone other layout of the first layout and the second layout, based on atleast one piece of information associated with the displayedapplication. As described earlier, some applications may be configuredto include a first layout in a vertical direction and a second layout ina horizontal direction and maintain the size and location of the windowdepending on the rotation of the display 410, and other applications maybe configured to include a fixed layout in the horizontal and verticaldirections and rotate about 90 degrees in the horizontal and verticaldirections according to the orientation of the display 410. Here, atleast one piece of information associated with the application mayinclude at least a part of the configuration information of theapplication described above, and when an event for changing the layoutoccurs, the processor 430 may determine layouts of the plurality ofapplications, respectively, based on the configuration information ofeach of the plurality of applications to be displayed on the display 410and the orientation of the electronic device 410 sensed through thesensor 450.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, in responseto the orientation change detected through the sensor, the processor 430may identify whether the displayed window is configured to include theconventional displayed layout or one other layout of the first layout orthe second layout. This can be identified by calling the configurationinformation for each application.

FIG. 5 illustrates software components of an electronic device 500according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, an activity manager 520, a window manager 530, anda phone window manager 540 may be defined on an application framework,and may include instructions that can be performed by theabove-described processor 430. The illustrated configuration may be onlyan example, and at least one part thereof may be partially changeddepending on the structure of the platform, which is implemented in theelectronic device 500. The above-described software components may bestored in memory 440 and executed by the processor 430.

The electronic device 500 may store a plurality of applications 510 andexecute at least a part of the applications at the same time. In thiscase, screens of applications 510 may be displayed at the same time.Each of the applications 510 may store the configuration informationassociated with the layout to be displayed according to the orientationof the electronic device 500, which may be called by the window manager530. Only two applications 500 are illustrated in FIG. 5, but the numberof applications is not limited.

A sensor 560 may include a gravity sensor (or gyro sensor) for sensingthe orientation of the electronic device 500. When sensing a change inthe orientation of the electronic device 500, the sensor 560 may informof whether the orientation is changed to the window manager 530.

The activity manager 520 may perform a function for managing theexecution and a life cycle of each of the applications 510. The windowmanager 530 may execute a function of individually managing windows onwhich the plurality of applications 510 are displayed, and include aselective orientation module 532 capable of individually selectingorientations of the plurality of applications 510. The phone windowmanager 540 may combine individually created windows to perform thefunction of managing all windows displayed on the whole area of thedisplay 410.

In a state where the plurality of applications 510 are executed, when anevent for changing the layout has occurred such that the electronicdevice 500 is rotated or the size of a pop-up window is changed, thewindow manager 530 may sense the same. In order to change configurationinformation of each of the applications 510, the window manager 530 mayidentify, through the selective orientation module 532, whether each ofthe applications 510 has a layout fixed in a vertical or horizontalorientation and whether the current window is in a vertical orhorizontal direction, and transmit the event information to the activitymanager 520. The activity manager 520 may update the configurationinformation of an application window according to the configurationinformation for each of the applications 510, and transfer the updatedinformation, that is, rotation and/or resizing of the window, and thechange of the layout, to the window manager 530.

The window update content is received by the window manager 530 andtransferred to the phone window manager 540 through the selectiveorientation module 532 in order to configure an individual window foreach of the applications 510, and the phone window manager 540 maycreate a window in a state where each of the applications 510 hasdifferent orientation information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, operationsrelated to the generation and updating of the configuration informationof the window may be performed by each of the applications 510. When anevent for changing the layout occurs, the corresponding eventinformation is transmitted to each of the applications 510, and each ofthe applications 510 may update the configuration information of theapplication window according to the configuration information andtransfer the updated information to the window manager 530. In thiscase, the selective orientation module 532 may be omitted in the windowmanager 530.

The phone window manager 540 may transmit, from the window manager 530,the information on the created window, to the display 550, and thedisplay 550 may display the information.

According to the execution of the above-described components, theelectronic device 500 may configure a different display mode for eachwindow of each of the applications 510 according to the configurationinformation of each of the applications 510 to be executed at the sametime.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 illustrate an applicationscreen displayed on the display 410 of an electronic device 400according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6A, FIG. 6A shows an embodiment of a case where theorientation of the display 410 is changed in a state where anapplication which can be changed to a first layout and a second layoutand an application having a layout fixed in a vertical orientation arebeing executed on the electronic device 400 at the same time.

An internet browser application having a first layout displayed in avertical direction and a second layout displayed in a horizontaldirection is displayed on the background window 610, and a callapplication having a layout fixed in a vertical direction may bedisplayed as a pop-up window 620. When the orientation of the display410 is in the vertical direction, the processor 430 may display theinternet browser application as the first layout on the backgroundwindow 610, and the call application may be displayed on the pop-upwindow 620 as a vertically fixed layout.

Hereinafter, the orientation of the display 410 is rotated in ahorizontal direction, a result of sensing by the sensor 450 istransferred to the processor 430, and the processor 430 may executeinstructions configured to determine a layout of each of the pluralityof applications based on the configuration information of each of theplurality of applications.

The processor 430 may check the configuration information of theinternet browser application and change the layout from the first layoutto the second layout in a state of maintaining a background window ofthe internet browser (indicated by reference numeral 630). In addition,the processor 430 may check the configuration information of the callapplication to identify the layout fixed in a vertical direction, andmay be configured to rotate the pop-up window of the call application by90 degrees and display the vertically fixed layout as it is on therotated pop-up window (indicated by reference numeral 640).

At this time, when the vertical length of the pop-up window is longerthan the vertical length of the display 410 as the pop-up window 640rotates, the size of the pop-up window 640 may be reduced according tothe size of the display 410.

Referring to FIG. 6B, when an entirety of the rotated pop-up window 692may not be displayed with regard to the vertical length of screen, atleast a part (e.g., a part of the upper and lower ends) thereof isexcluded and then a remaining part 694 is displayed.

Accordingly, when the internet browser application and the callapplication having different configuration information for the layoutare displayed as a multi-window, even when the orientation of thedisplay 410 is changed, an orientation for each application may bedetermined in a direction suitable to the field of view of the user.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a case of executing an applicationhaving a horizontally fixed layout in a multi-window in a state where anapplication which can be changed to the first layout and the secondlayout is executed on the electronic device 400 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the internet browser application may be displayedas a first layout in a state where the display 410 is verticallyoriented (indicated by reference numeral 710). Thereafter, when a gameapplication having a horizontally fixed layout is executed according tothe user's selection, the processor 430 may maintain the window and thelayout of the internet browser application as it is in the background(indicated by reference numeral 720), and maintain a pop-up window ofthe game application in a shape whose horizontal length is long anddetermine the orientation thereof in a vertical direction (indicated byreference numeral 730).

In this case, when compared to a case where the game application aloneis executed in the entire area of the display 410, the game applicationmay be displayed as the pop-up window 730 in a state where the sizethereof is reduced and rotated 90 degrees in a state of maintaining thehorizontal and vertical ratio. In addition, as described above throughFIG. 6B, when a pop-up window may not be completely displayed withregard to the aspect ratio of the screen, at least a part of the gameapplication may be excluded and then displayed.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a case where an application having avertically fixed layout is executed in a state where an applicationhaving a horizontally fixed layout is executed on the electronic device400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, a game application having a horizontally fixedlayout in a state where the display 410 is horizontally oriented may bedisplayed in a background window 810. Thereafter, when a callapplication having a vertically fixed layout is executed according tothe user's selection, the processor 430 may determine the orientation ofthe window 830 in the horizontal direction while maintaining the window830 of the call application in a shape whose vertical length is longerin a state where the background window of the game application ismaintained as it is (indicated by reference numeral 820).

In this case, the window 830 may be displayed as a pop-up window wherethe size thereof is reduced and rotated by 90 degrees in a state ofmaintaining the horizontal and vertical ratio when compared to a casewhere the call application alone is executed in the entire area of thedisplay 410.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a case where an application having ahorizontally fixed layout is executed on the background in a state wherean application having a vertically fixed layout is executed as thepop-up window on the electronic device 400 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, the internet browser application having avertically fixed layout in a state where the display 410 is verticallyoriented may be displayed on a part of the display 410 as a pop-upwindow (indicated by reference numeral 910). Thereafter, when theorientation of the display 410 is horizontally rotated and the gameapplication having a horizontally fixed layout is executed, the gameapplication is horizontally oriented across the entire area of thedisplay 410 and displayed in the background window 930, and the pop-upwindow of internet applications can be displayed by including the firstlayout as it is in a state of being rotated 90 degrees (indicated byreference numeral 920).

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a case of changing the size of thepop-up window in the electronic device 400 in a state where anapplication having a vertically fixed layout is displayed in abackground window and an application which can be changed into the firstlayout and second layout is displayed in a pop-up window according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an event forchanging the layout may occur when the size of one of the pop-up windowsis changed and one of the horizontal length or vertical length of thepop-up window increases by a threshold value or more than the length ofthe other.

Referring to FIG. 10, in a state where the display 410 is verticallyoriented, the internet browser application fixed in a vertical layout isdisplayed in the background window (indicated by reference numeral1010), a calculator application having the first layout and secondlayout may be displayed in a pop-up window in a first layout in avertical direction (indicated by reference numeral 1020). Here, the sizeof the calculator application displayed in the pop-up window may beadjusted according to the user's input.

When the size of the pop-up window 1020 is adjusted according to theuser's input and the horizontal length of the pop-up window increases bya threshold value or more than the vertical length, the processor 430may change the pop-up window of the calculator application to a secondlayout (indicated by reference numeral 1040).

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a case where the size of one ofsplit windows in the electronic device 400 is changed according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a pluralityof windows corresponding to a plurality of applications may be displayedon split areas divided from each other in the display 410.

Referring to FIG. 11, when the calculator application and internetbrowser application having first and second layouts are simultaneouslydisplayed in a split window and the display 410 is horizontallyoriented, the display 410 may be divided and displayed as the firstlayout in a vertical direction (indicated by reference numerals 1110 and1120).

When the size of the window 1110 of a calculator application is changedaccording to the user's input and the horizontal length of the window ofthe calculator application increases by a threshold value or more thanthe vertical length thereof, the processor 430 may change the window ofthe calculator application to the second layout in a horizontaldirection (indicated by reference numeral 1130). At this time, thewindow 1140 of the internet browser application may be displayed with areduced ratio of the vertical length in a state where the first layoutis maintained, or at least a part thereof may be displayed in thebackground area.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of a case where the orientation of theelectronic device 400 is changed in a state where an application A,which can be changed to the first and second layouts and an applicationB having a layout fixed in a vertical orientation are displayed on thesplit window according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, when the electronic device 400 is horizontallyoriented, the screen may be divided in two and both of two applicationsare displayed in a vertical direction (indicated by reference numerals1210 and 1220). Here, when the orientation of the display is changed tothe vertical direction, the application A, which can be changed to thefirst and second layouts may be changed to the horizontal layout(indicated by reference numeral 1230), and the application B having avertically fixed layout may be displayed in the vertical layout(indicated by reference numeral 1240). At this time, as shown indrawing, a window of the application B may be reduced while maintainingthe ratio thereof, and at least a part thereof may be omitted and thendisplayed.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a case where the display 410 of theelectronic device 400 has an edge area and the orientation of theelectronic device 400 is changed according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, various types of indicators and icons may bedisplayed on an edge area 1320 of the electronic device 400, and atleast a part of the displayed indicators or icons may be configured suchthat the orientation thereof is changed according to the orientationchange of the electronic device 400.

When the electronic device 400 is in the vertical direction, anapplication which can be changed to the first and second layouts isdisplayed in the vertical direction (indicated by reference numeral1310), and the screen of the edge area may also be displayed in thevertical direction (indicated by reference numeral 1320). Thereafter,when the orientation of the electronic device 400 is changed to ahorizontal direction, the application is changed to the layout of thehorizontal direction (indicated by reference numeral 1330) and thelayout of the edge area may also be changed to a horizontal direction(indicated by reference numeral 1340).

Unlike those illustrated in FIG. 13, when an application having a fixedlayout in the horizontal or vertical direction is displayed, the layoutof the application is not changed according to the rotation of theelectronic device 400 and only the layout of the edge area is changed.

Although various embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13,FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 have described a case wheretwo applications operate in a multi-window environment, and variousembodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a case wherethree or more applications operate therein. In addition, the display 410may include a first area and a second area, and the processor 430 maydetermine, when an event for changing the layout occurs, window layoutsof the first area and second area.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include: a rectangular display; at least one sensor; aprocessor electrically connected to the display and the at least onesensor; and a memory electrically connected to the processor, whereinthe memory stores an application program including a first layout to bedisplayed when the display is substantially oriented in a horizontalorientation and a second layout to be displayed when the display issubstantially oriented in a vertical orientation, and the memory storesinstructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto perform operations including: displaying a window including one ofthe first and second layouts on a part of the display; detecting achange in the orientation of the electronic device by using at least onesensor; rotating the window about 90 degrees at least partially based onthe detection of the orientation change, and continuously maintainingone of the first and second layouts in the window.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theinstructions may be configured to cause the processor to select, whenthe orientation of the electronic device is changed, whether tocontinuously maintain one of the first and second layouts in the window,or whether to include one other layout of the first layout or the secondlayout based on a user input.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theinstructions may be configured to cause the processor to select, whenthe orientation of the electronic device is changed, whether tocontinuously maintain one of the first and second layout in the window,or whether to include one other layout of the first layout or the secondlayout, based on at least one piece of information associated with theapplication.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include: a rectangular display; at least one sensor; aprocessor electrically connected to the display and the at least onesensor; and a memory electrically connected to the processor, whereinthe memory stores an application program including a first layout to bedisplayed when the display is substantially oriented in a horizontalorientation and a second layout when the display is substantiallyoriented in a vertical orientation, and the memory stores instructionswhich, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to performoperations including: displaying a window including one of the first andsecond layouts on a part of the display; managing the selection of thelayout in a window displayed on the display at the center; detecting achange in the orientation of the electronic device by using the at leastone sensor; when the orientation of the electronic device is changed inresponse to the detection, identifying whether the displayed window isconfigured to continuously maintain one of the first and second layoutsor to include one other layout thereof; selecting a layout to beincluded in the displayed window based on the identification; anddisplaying the window including the selected layout.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include: a display; at least one sensor; a processorelectrically connected to the display and the at least one sensor; and amemory electrically connected to the processor, wherein the memorystores a plurality of applications including at least one of a firstlayout to be displayed when the display is oriented in a verticalorientation and a second layout to be displayed when the display isoriented in a horizontal orientation, and the memory stores instructionswhich, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to performoperations including: when the plurality of applications are executed,creating windows on which the plurality of applications are displayedand displaying the plurality of applications in the first layout or thesecond layout; and when an event for the change of the layout occurs,determining a layout of each of the plurality of applications on thebasis of configuration information on each of the plurality ofapplications.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, wherein theat least one sensor may include a sensor for detecting the orientationof the display, and the event may occur when the orientation of thedisplay is changed.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theconfiguration information may include information on whether to changethe orientation and layout of the window when the event occurs.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when one ofthe plurality of applications is an application configured to have afixed layout, the memory may store, when the event occurs, instructionsconfigured to rotate the window in a horizontal or vertical directionand continuously include the fixed layout in the window, with referenceto the configuration information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when one ofthe plurality of applications is an application configured to change thelayout, the memory may store, when the event occurs, instructionsconfigured to maintain the window and include a changed layout of thefirst layout or the second layout in the window, with reference to theconfiguration information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the memorymay include an instruction configured to call the configurationinformation of the at least one application currently being executedwhen the event occurs; and an instruction configured to create a singlescreen by combining windows of applications created on the basis of theconfiguration information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, one ofwindows corresponding to a plurality of applications is a backgroundwindow displayed on the background, and one or more other windows may bepop-up windows displayed on a layer above the background window.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the eventmay occur when the size of one of the pop-up windows is changedaccording to the user input and one of the horizontal length or verticallength of the pop-up window increases by a threshold value or more thanthe length of the other.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the windowscorresponding to the plurality of applications may be displayed on areasdivided from each other in the display.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the displaymay include the first area and the second area divided from each other,and the memory may include, when the event occurs, an instructionconfigured to determine layouts of the first area and the second area.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for setting a display of anelectronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The illustrated method may be performed by an electronic devicedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9, 10,11, 12, and 13 above, and hereinafter, the description will be omittedherein for technical features that are identical to the previouslydescribed technical features or can be inferred therefrom.

Referring to FIG. 14, in operation 1410, the electronic device mayexecute two or more applications at the same time.

In operation 1420, the electronic device may create a window fordisplaying each of the plurality of applications being executed. At thistime, one of a plurality of windows may be a background window displayedon the background, and one or more windows may be pop-up windowsdisplayed on a layer above the background window. In addition, theplurality of windows corresponding to the plurality of applications maybe split windows defined on areas divided from each other in thedisplay.

In operation 1430, the electronic device may display applicationscorresponding to the windows as a first layout to be displayed when thedisplay is vertically oriented or a second layout to be displayed whenthe display is horizontally oriented. The first layout is a shape whosehorizontal direction is short and vertical direction is long, and thesecond layout is a shape whose horizontal direction is long and verticaldirection is short, and for example, a part of the information displayedat the bottom on the first layout may be displayed on the right side onthe second layout. In addition, at least one other application may havea fixed layout regardless of the orientation of the display. That is,for an application whose layout is fixed in a vertical orientation, evenwhen the orientation of the display is changed from vertical tohorizontal, the layout may be not changed and maintain a shape whosevertical length is short and horizontal length is long.

In operation 1440, the electronic device may sense an event for changingthe layout. Here, the event for changing the layout may occur when theorientation of the display is changed from horizontal to vertical orvice versa, or the size of one of the pop-up windows is changedaccording to the user's input so that one of the horizontal length orvertical length of the pop-up window increases by a threshold value ormore than the other length of the pop-up window.

In operation 1450, when an event for changing the layout occurs, theelectronic device may identify configuration information for eachapplication. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure,each application may include configuration information related to the UIcharacteristics, and the configuration information may includeinformation on the orientation and layout of a window in which theapplication is displayed.

In operation 1460, the electronic device may determine the layout ofeach of the plurality of applications on the basis of the configurationinformation on each of the plurality of applications. The abovedescription is the same as those previously described in detail throughthe embodiments of FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

A method for configuring a display of an electronic device according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure may include operations of:executing a plurality of applications; creating windows on which theplurality of applications are displayed, respectively, and displayingthe plurality of applications, on the window, in a first layout to bedisplayed when a display is vertically oriented and a second layout tobe displayed when the display is horizontally oriented; sensing an eventfor a change in the layout; and determining a layout of each of theplurality of applications based on the configuration information on eachof the plurality of applications.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theoperation for sensing of the event may include an operation fordetecting the change in the orientation of the display.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theconfiguration information may include information on whether to changethe orientation and layout of the window when the event occurs.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theoperation for determining of the layout may include, when one of theplurality of applications is an application configured to have a fixedlayout, rotating the window in a horizontal or vertical direction andcontinuously including the fixed layout in the window, with reference tothe configuration information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theoperation for determining of the layout may include, when one of theplurality of applications is an application configured to change thelayout, maintaining the window and including a changed layout of thefirst layout or the second layout in the window, with reference to theconfiguration information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theoperation for determining of the layout may include: calling theconfiguration information of the at least one application currentlybeing executed when the event occurs; and creating a single screen bycombining windows of applications created on the basis of theconfiguration information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, one ofwindows corresponding to a plurality of applications may be a backgroundwindow displayed on the background, and one or more other windows may bepop-up windows displayed on a layer above the background window.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theoperation for sensing of the event may include: sensing a case where thesize of one of the pop-up windows is changed according to the user inputso that one of the horizontal length or vertical length of the pop-upwindow increases by a threshold value or more than the length of theother.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, windowscorresponding to the plurality of applications may be displayed on areasdivided from each other in the display.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theoperation for determining of the layout may include: determining layoutsof the first area and second area, respectively, when the event occurs.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a display; atleast one sensor; a processor; and a memory storing instructions which,when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to performoperations comprising: displaying, on the display, a multi window splitinto a first window and a second window such that a first applicationbeing executed is displayed on the first window and a second applicationbeing executed is displayed on the second window; while the multi windowsplit into the first window and the second window is displayed, changinga size of the first window and the second window, based on a touch inputon the display; and while the multi window split into the first windowand the second window is displayed, changing a layout of the firstapplication from one of a first layout or a second layout to the otherof the first layout or the second layout, based on the changing of thesize of the first window relative to the size of the second window,wherein the first layout is a landscape layout having a first userinterface with a first number of user selectable inputs, and the secondlayout is a portrait layout having a second user interface with a secondnumber of user selectable inputs.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the instructions stored in the memory executed by the processorcause the electronic device to perform operations comprising: in a statein which the display is oriented in a horizontal orientation, initiallysplitting the multi window into the first window and the second window,the first application being displayed in the first window using thesecond layout; and while the display is oriented in the horizontalorientation and the multi window is split into the first window and thesecond window, changing the layout of the first application from thesecond layout to the first layout based on a horizontal length of thefirst window relative to a vertical length thereof increasing beyond athreshold.
 3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructionsstored in the memory executed by the processor cause the electronicdevice to perform operations comprising: in a state in which the displayis oriented in a horizontal orientation, initially splitting the multiwindow into the first window and the second window; and while thedisplay is oriented in the horizontal orientation and the multi windowis split into the first window and the second window, changing thelayout of the first application from the one of the first layout or thesecond layout to the other of the first layout or the second layoutbased on a horizontal length of the first window relative to a verticallength thereof increasing beyond a threshold.
 4. The electronic deviceof claim 1, wherein the changing of the layout of the first applicationfrom the one of the first layout or the second layout to the other ofthe first layout or the second layout comprises: changing the layout ofthe first application from the first layout to the second layout, basedon a horizontal length of the first window increasing beyond athreshold.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the firstapplication is configured to change the layout of the first applicationbased on an orientation of the display being changed or a size of atleast one window of the multi window being changed.
 6. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the instructions stored in the memoryexecuted by the processor cause the electronic device to performoperations comprising: determining whether to change a layout of thefirst application based on configuration information of the firstapplication.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the firstlayout of the first application includes more keys than the secondlayout of the first application.
 8. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the second application is partially displayed in the secondwindow when the size of the second window decreases.
 9. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the first application is a calculatorapplication, and wherein the instructions stored in the memory executedby the processor cause the electronic device to perform operationscomprising: displaying, on the first window or the second window, thecalculator application with the portrait layout including a plurality ofUI items of a basic calculator, when entering to a multi window modewhile the electronic device is oriented horizontally; and changinglayout of the calculator application to the landscape layout including aplurality of UI items of a scientific calculator, when a size of thefirst window or the second window displaying the calculator applicationincreases beyond a threshold while the electronic device is orientedhorizontally.
 10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the changingof the layout of the first application from the one of the first layoutor the second layout to the other of the first layout or the secondlayout occurs while the orientation of the display stays the same. 11.An electronic device comprising: a display; a processor; and a memorystoring instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause theelectronic device to perform operations comprising: displaying, on thedisplay, a first window for displaying a first application beingexecuted and a second window for displaying a second application beingexecuted, adjacent to each other; and based on a touch input on thedisplay received while the first window and the second window aredisplayed adjacent to each other: changing a size of the first window,changing a size of the second window according to the changing of thesize of the first window, and changing a layout of the first applicationdisplayed in the first window from one of a first layout or a secondlayout to the other of the first layout or the second layout accordingto the changing of the size of the first window, wherein the firstlayout has a first user interface (UI) with a first number of selectableUI items, and the second layout has a second UI with a second number ofselectable UI items.
 12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein thelayout of the first application is changed from one of the first layoutand the second layout to the other of the first layout and the secondlayout based on a horizontal length of the first window relative to avertical length thereof.
 13. The electronic device of claim 11, whereinthe touch input comprises a drag input, wherein as a touch of the draginput moves on the display, the size of the first window and the size ofthe second window are changed together.
 14. The electronic device ofclaim 11, wherein the first layout of the first application isassociated with a horizontal orientation of the electronic device, andthe second layout of the first application is associated with a verticalorientation of the electronic device.
 15. The electronic device of claim11, wherein the first application is configured to change the layout ofthe first application based on an orientation of the display beingchanged.
 16. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: determining whether to change the layout of the firstapplication based on configuration information of the first application.17. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the selectable UI itemscomprise keys.
 18. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein a portionof the second application is displayed in the second window without alayout of the second application being changed when the size of thesecond window decreases.
 19. The electronic device of claim 11, whereinthe first application is a calculator application, and wherein theinstructions stored in the memory executed by the processor cause theelectronic device to perform operations comprising: displaying, on thefirst window or the second window, the calculator application with aportrait layout including a plurality of UI items of a basic calculator,when entering to a multi window mode while the electronic device isoriented horizontally; and changing layout of the calculator applicationto a landscape layout including a plurality of UI items of a scientificcalculator, when a size of the first window or the second windowdisplaying the calculator application increases beyond a threshold whilethe electronic device is oriented horizontally.
 20. The electronicdevice of claim 11, wherein the changing of the layout of the firstapplication from the one of the first layout or the second layout to theother of the first layout or the second layout occurs while theorientation of the display stays the same.